MEMS-based motion sensors combine low-power, motion accuracy and low noise for smart mobile devices
Freescale Semiconductor introduced new high-performance, low-power three-axis accelerometers in a 2×2 mm ultra-compact package. The pin-compatible Xtrinsic MMA8652FC 12-bit and MMA8653FC 10-bit accelerometers provide low noise and advanced motion accuracy for power- and space-constrained mobile devices, including smart phones, tablets, digital cameras, portable navigation solutions and health care applications.
With a 56 percent reduction in volume compared to previous generations, Freescale is expanding its 3-axis accelerometer family with these new devices that are ideal for applications requiring compact size and low power consumption.
According to IHS, global revenue from motion sensor technology in smartphones and tablets is expected to nearly double during the next five years, expanding from $1.1 billion in 2011 to $1.9 billion by 2015. As market demand continues to grow for smaller, thinner mobile gadgets, compact acceleration sensors with advanced embedded features are essential to enable sophisticated applications in streamlined devices.
“The mobile device space is a strong driver for the MEMS market,” said Jérémie Bouchaud, director and senior principal analyst for MEMS and Sensors at IHS. “Fueled by robust growth in this space and increasing consumer demand for MEMS-driven functionality in their connected devices, we expect accelerometers and other MEMS sensors will reach near 100 percent penetration by 2016 in smart phones and tablets.”
Freescale’s Xtrinsic MMA8652FC and MMA8653FC micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) based accelerometers are highly versatile to support a range of features such as gesture detection, image stability, tap to control, anti-theft, and tumble and freefall detection. The MMA865xFC accelerometers, combined with Freescale’s sensor toolbox development tools, enable simpler, more efficient design cycles, decreasing developers’ time-to-market and lowering costs. Utilizing the MMA865xFC family, system designers can easily integrate into their products standard functions like orientation detection and more advanced applications such as eCompass and location-based services.
“Built to complement our extensive portfolio of sensing solutions, the Xtrinsic MMA865xFC family of accelerometers delivers the highest performance available of any 2x2 mm package on the market today,” said Seyed Paransun, vice president and general manager of Freescale’s Sensor & Actuator Solutions Division. “Using these sleek new accelerometers, designers can employ new levels of sensor intelligence through embedded algorithms and computation without compromising sensitivity or performance.”
Together with the host processor, Freescale’s MMA865xFC embedded accelerometers help make decisions about contextual environmental sensing and enable the ability to record highly precise movement for a wide range of devices, from smartphones to remote controls to health and activity monitoring equipment.
The MMA865xFC accelerometers deliver advanced sensitivity of 1 mg per LSB and feature six user configurable sample rates that can be set over a wide range (from 1.5 to 800 samples per second). The accelerometers incorporate Freescale’s MEMS transducer for improved space efficiency and an on-chip FIFO (first-in/first-out) memory buffer that allows for smarter system power management. When combined with the host processor, this can contribute to a consumption savings that can range up to 96 percent or higher depending on conditions of the microcontroller and output data rates chosen.
The MMA865xFC 3-axis accelerometers are compatible with Freescale’s Xtrinsic eCompass and calibration software designed with a full range of power and performance with floating point and integer code that supports Android, Windows 8 and other operating systems, in addition to Freescale’s Xtrinsic 12-axis sensor fusion platform for portable devices.
Feature Summary:
- Low-profile 2 x 2 x 1 mm DFN package
- 12- and 10- bit digital output
- High sensitivity: 1 mg per LSB
- Low noise: 156 micro g per root Hertz (independent of resolution)
- Interrupt and IIC interface supply: 1.62 to 3.6 V
- Supply voltage : 1.95 to 3.6 V
- Output data rate: 1.5 to 800 Hz
- Low-power mode: 6 micro amps
- Two programmable interrupt pins for seven interrupt sources
- Orientation (portrait/landscape) detection with hysteresis
- MMA8652FC embedded motion detection features:
- Freefall or motion detection
- Pulse detection
- Jolt detection
- Automatic output data rate change for auto-wake/sleep
- Self test
- MMA8652FC embedded 32 sample FIFO buffer
- High pass filtered data available per sample and through the FIFO
Development support, price and availability
The Xtrinsic MMA8652FC 12-bit accelerometer and MMA8653FC 10-bit accelerometer are now available in sample quantities. Production quantities are planned for Q4 2012 from Freescale and its distribution partners at a suggested resale price of $0.77 (USD) for the MMA8652FC accelerometer and $0.66 (USD) for the MMA8653FC accelerometer in 10,000-piece quantities.
The Freescale Sensor Toolbox provides hardware, software and accessories in a common platform for accelerometers, magnetometers, pressure sensors and touch sensors. Freescale plans to offer the LFSTBEB865x development boards in Q4 2012 for a suggested resale price of $75 (USD). There is also a bundled option RDMMA865x that includes the accelerometer development boards with the USB board for a suggested resale price of $99 (USD). eCompass calibration and compensation algorithms are compatible with the MMA8652FC and MMA8653FC accelerometers and can be downloaded for evaluation.
